Crime

CARROLLTON, Ga. -- Five Florida men have been arrested on federal charges relating to copper theft from the Southwire Company in Carrollton.

Forty-five-year-old Jacinto "Pachi" Diaz of Miami was arrested in May while attempting to cross the border from Hidalgo, Texas into Mexico.

He was the last of the men -- Henry Diaz, 26, and Anthony Foubelo, 31, both of Miami; Mario Baras Gonzalez, 47, of Miami Beach; and Jesus Ramirez, 26, of Homestead, Fla. -- to be captured and arraigned for allegedly stealing $465,000 worth of copper wire from Carrollton and delivering it to other states, including Florida and Indiana.

"Copper is disappearing at an alarming rate as its value has increased. People in our communities have heard of many smaller thefts, but these charges allege that this scheme involved about a half million dollars worth of copper," said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

During the early morning hours of Monday, Apr. 18, two people got into Brother's Pawn & Jewelry on Alabama Avenue by breaking a wooden garage door panel on the side of the building.

Surveillance video both inside and outside the store show that one of the suspects is a heavyset black man with a shaved head. He was wearing camouflage pants and a shirt with a horizontal stripe across the back at the time of the robbery.

The two suspects made off with guns from the store.

"Firearms theft from licensed gun dealers is one of the top priorities for ATF," said Special Agent in Charge Gregory K. Gant. "Experience shows us that these guns will likely end up being used in a crime.

ROCKMART, GA -- Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have arrested Rockmart police officer Randy Poole on one count of second degree Cruelty to Children.

Keith Sorrels, Rockmart police chief, requested an investigation against Poole, a four-year officer with the Rockmart Police Department, on Thursday, Feb. 10, after being made aware of allegations of child abuse. The GBI's Calhoun office obtained the arrest warrant for Poole.

BREMEN, GA -- On Wednesday, Dec. 22, Michael W. White, 46, of Bremen was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester to serve more than three years in federal prison on charges of altering a vehicle identification number and committing offenses while on federal bond.

"This defendent made the serious mistake of committing additional crimes while he was on federal bond," said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "He has now been sentenced to almost four more years in federal prison for the crimes he committed while out on bond. This case should be a lesson for any defendent released on a bond: if you commit additional crimes while on bond, you are looking at additional time in federal prison."

White was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution to victims in the amount of $55,800.

VILLA RICA, GA -- Detectives from the Cobb County Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit have investigated and arrested an individual for sexual exploitation of a child.

According to investigators, they arrested the 20-year-old man in west Cobb County when he thought that he was meeting a 14-year-old female, with whom he'd been communicating on the Internet, for the purpose of having sexual intercourse with her.

Detectives have charged Matthew Day Cauthen of Villa Rica with sexual exploitation of a child. He has been processed through the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on $35,000 bond.

Investigators are interested in talking with anyone who has corresponded in the past with an individual with the screen name MDcauthen911. Mr.